AJ Zvada attends Valley Christian High School and is a member of the AIA's Student SID Program.

On Friday, September 15th, the 3A Valley Christian Trojans traveled north and faced off against one of the top 2A football teams, the Scottsdale Christian Eagles. The Eagles were seeking a win after suffering a crushing defeat against the Pima Roughriders, 23-20, two weeks prior to this game. The Trojans were coming off a big win against Seton Catholic, 44-7, the previous week. The VC and SCA teams last played against each other in the 2019 season, with the Trojans taking the victory 43-0. After receiving over 25,000 votes from both school communities, this game was featured on 12 News as their “Friday Night Fever Game of the Week”. Watch the highlights here on YouTube:

The Trojans came out victorious in this battle between Christian schools, with a final score of 37-28. Seniors Caleb Lewis and Takam Kamgaing led the team in tackles/assists with 10 each. Senior quarterback Gunnar Link threw for four touchdowns (Sophomore Asher Hanzal – 2, Seniors Carson Tarr and Will Bastian – 1 each) and ran for one more. Lewis led the team in rushing with 62 yards on 7 attempts with Link adding 57 yards on 8 attempts. 

Sophomore lineman Hudson Pickett gave his input on how the team won the game.

“We stuck to the fundamentals and trusted our team’s ability to pass the ball and score in the vital moments of the game.”

Senior linebacker Jimmy Twombly commented on how the team can improve from this game.

“We can improve by not becoming complacent in our abilities and not stopping until the final whistle is blown.”

During the matchup against SCA, the Eagles were able to lessen the gap in the score with two touchdowns in the final minutes of the game. This was unacceptable for the Trojans and going forward it’s important for the team to finish the game strong.

The Valley Christian football team is now 5-0 on the season with five regular season games remaining.

GO TROJANS!